PowerBI refresh failed when connected to databricks- DMTS_OAuthTokenRefreshFailedError

[sarath_p]

Hi,
Could someone please help with the issue below:

We have a PowerBI report that is connected to the databricks using an Import mode. We are using OAuth as the authentication mode.
The report is scheduled for daily refresh. The report was refreshing successfully for past 6-7 days. But then it failed with the below error:

{"error":{"code":"DMTS_OAuthTokenRefreshFailedError","pbi.error":{"code":"DMTS_OAuthTokenRefreshFailedError","details":[{"code":"DM_ErrorDetailNameCode_UnderlyingErrorMessage","detail":{"type":1,"value":"[DataSource.Error] Web.Contents failed to get contents from 'https://servername.cloud.databricks.com/xxxx/x1/token' (400): Bad Request"}}],"exceptionCulprit":1}}}

This keeps happening once in a week. 

When it fails we have to go the PowerBIservice --> data source credentials and reauthenticate the credentials, only after which it will start working. 

What could be the issue here? 

FYI, the databricks cluster stays disabled until some query hits. 

[Peter_Brinch]

@sarath_p  what did you end up doing? We are facing what sounds like the exact same issue.

[v-ssriganesh · Accepted solution]

Hi @sarath_p,

Thanks for reaching out about the refresh failure you're experiencing with your Power BI report connected to Databricks. I understand that the report was refreshing successfully for several days but started failing with a "DMTS_OAuthTokenRefreshFailedError" once a week.

This error typically indicates an issue with refreshing the OAuth token used for authentication between Power BI and Databricks. Here are some possible causes and solutions to troubleshoot the problem:

You mentioned that the Databricks cluster stays disabled until a query hits it. This auto-shutdown behavior might be causing the token to expire before the scheduled refresh. To address this:

• If possible, adjust your Databricks cluster settings to remain active for a specific period or continuously run low-resource queries to prevent automatic shutdowns. Alternatively, consider scheduling a simple query to the Databricks cluster just before your Power BI refresh. This will ensure the cluster is active and the token is valid for refresh.
• Investigate the expiration time of OAuth tokens issued by Databricks. If they expire frequently (e.g., daily), it might lead to refresh failures around that time.
• see if there's an option on the Databricks side to extend the validity period of OAuth tokens. This would reduce refresh attempts and potential failures.
• While reauthenticating credentials in Power BI service after the refresh failure seems to resolve the issue temporarily, it's not an ideal long-term solution.

If these solutions do not resolve the issue, please consider contacting Databricks support or raising a Microsoft support ticket. You can create a Microsoft support ticket using the link below:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/support/create-support-ticket

If this helps then please Accept it as a solution and dropping a "Kudos" so other members can find it more easily.
Hope this works for you!
Thanks.

[sarath_p]

Thanks a lot for your immediate response and detailed explanation provided. We will try some of these options to see if it resolves the issue and provide an update here.